The man shook his arms twice, letting the sleeves of his suit slip forward and into place. He smoothed the lapels, then located the two buttons, taking one in each hand. He fastened both simultaneously, a practiced gesture. Satisfied, he turned and proceeded towards the door of his room.

There were no mirrors in his suite. He was confident in his ability to dress and groom. Before reaching for the doorknob, he paused, bending over. A hand brushed through the branches of his eucalyptus plant, bringing a tuft of leaves to his nose. He inhaled softly, his eyelids closed, letting himself enjoy the aroma of the healing herb. He would hold onto the pleasant scent, breathing it out gradually until day's end.

Kioshi exited his suite and heard the tumblers click into place behind him. Then, he crossed the hall, stepped into the elevator, and selected '3.' He moved to the side and stood, back to the wall, head bowed, hands clasped. Closing himself off. Reserving social energy for when it was needed.

The elevator stopped on '6' and someone walked in. From his sloppy cadence and his style of shoe, Kioshi was able to tell a great deal. Most importantly, he didn't know the man and he had no business with the man. A tourist most likely.

"How's it going, sir? You work here?"

Kioshi tilted his head up just enough to see the man's face. He was on the thicker side and wearing a sports cap. A key card dangled from his hand, pressed between two meaty fingers. A tourist. A customer. Not a client.

"I do," Kioshi spoke, "Checking in or out?"

"Oh, neither. Have to get a new card because mine stopped working," the man said, smiling while he delivered his complaint.

Kioshi nodded once, "I am sorry for your inconvenience." He tucked a finger inside a suit pocket and removed a colorful voucher with a holographic coating. Redeemable in the machines on the eighth floor. He passed it to the man, and said, "Ten free spins, on the house."

The man took it and held it in front of his face, "Well hey, thank you, sir! On the house! Hey, are you the owner or sumthin'?"

Kioshi held the man's gaze, saying nothing. The man's jovial expression held for all of two seconds before collapsing.

"Sorry, ah...," the man awkwardly leaned against the opposite wall, then pulled out a phone to preoccupy himself. Kioshi bowed his head once more.

Kioshi turned left before he was fully out of the elevator, leaving the unpleasant customer behind.

All of his employees knew better than to doubt him. He still liked to appear busy. As he power-walked past bus-boys and janitors, none of them met his gaze. Each of them offered a subtle bow of acknowledgment. Respect.

The Wind Chime was empty, as requested. The white wood of the floor was dustless. Four raised, carpeted platforms stretched out in front of him, dividing the dojo into two aisles. Each carpeted bench contained a row of recently fluffed cushions. Circular and mint green. The rest of the room was an assortment of whites and greys.

Ted Lax had taken two of the cushions and was sitting against the wall, using them to support his back. Kioshi masked his disdain for the incorrect practice, maintaining a flat expression.

"Teddy," he said, in greeting.

Ted stood, touched a hand to his golden bowtie, and then fanned that same arm out, palm up. His signature greeting.

"Kioshi Kaji, in person! It's been too long since we shared a drink!"

Kioshi nodded, "Too long, my friend."

"I'm liking your new place. Casino in the heart of New York? That's sure to bring in some cash," Ted remarked, "I'm curious about the name, though. Kamikaze? Seems... controversial."

"Kami-no-kaze," Kioshi corrected, "Different meaning. But yes, I am aware of the confusion. It helps to bring in the right crowd."

"Sounds a tad racist. But you didn't hear that from me!" Ted chuckled, "Anyway, its good to see you again!"

"Good to see you too. I am sorry about what happened to your accounts. I understand that you are here to seek counsel about liquidating your assets. If you wanted to investigate what happened to you, I can also provide that service."

"Always thinking ahead! That's why you're my guy!" Ted said, before biting his lip and asking, "Can we sit?"

Kioshi followed Ted to where he had been lounging before. Kioshi took a seat on the edge of the bench, and Ted begrudgingly followed suit. Saving face.

Ted's voice was a conspiratorial hush, "I'm actually only here to investigate what happened. I gave you a false story because I think my houses have been wired. They shut me down the moment I tried to hire a private investigator."

This did not surprise Kioshi. Ted Lax was a successful businessman, and part of that success was to Kioshi's credit.

Ted was also a careless man. Any number of contractors or subordinates could have planted surveillance tech in his estates. Ted did not consider himself to have enemies, though Kioshi was privy to the truth. Because of this, Ted was negligent.

"Our surveillance and counter-surveillance are excellent," Kioshi said, "You made a good decision in coming here."

"Ha! Don't undersell yourself, boyo. I'm sure your spy-tech is the best," Ted praised.

"I am flattered," Kioshi responded, "Now let us talk strategy. Tell me what you know."

Ted cleared his throat and adjusted his seating, "My main lead is this company that bought my business. Good And You."

"Yes, I have already done research on them," Kioshi explained, "They came to prominence by discovering untapped fossil fuel deposits all across the world. They purchased land in these locations and sold to the highest bidders. They did this for gold and other precious resources too. Two weeks ago, on May 13, they purchased 220 acres of farmland in central Canada, only to sell it the next day. When the buyer started to till the land, she found blood stains and a lot of scattered machine parts. Bad for farming; she was upset."

"I would be upset, too!" Ted exclaimed.

Kioshi grinned and continued, "That is most of the story, besides the part where they acquired your company and abandoned your full list of beneficiaries."

"The full list! I didn't know that!" Ted cried out, "Why did they even want my company?"

"I'm still unsure. I also cannot find a name for whoever is in charge. Good And You is low-profile, and they refuse to make statements to the press. Any more leads?"

"Nothing strong," Ted admitted, "I called MIDI and asked why none of my Childe devices were working. They told me they lost connection with half of their units the moment I sold Cause. That includes all of the units installed in the Pillars of Humanity and my tax islands. They lost connection to the rest of my units last night, a few minutes after I talked to you."

"The first part is understandable. The second part is an issue," Kioshi stated, "But it also speaks to a certain truth. I think I know why they bought your business, Teddy."

♠

Kioshi veered left at the stoplight, passing between two cars. Some would have called it careless. They would imply that Kioshi should have waited for a larger gap before making the turn. That he was reckless or inexperienced.

They were wrong. Kioshi was careful. He also had a lot of practice driving.

Ted sucked in his lips and seized the grab handle, "Woah-ho-ho. You're a madman!"

Kioshi shrugged. He sliced back and forth through traffic. Squeezed into tight spaces. Executed sharp turns. Capitalized on any ambiguous moments, such as who had the right-of-way.

The ocean was coming into view ahead of them. The Pillars of Humanity could be seen in the rear-view windows. Four black monoliths reaching skyward.

"Are you taking us to the beach? I thought we were breaking in?" Ted asked.

Breaking in. An hour into their investigation, a news alert had appeared. 'Bidding War for the Four Pillars'. This had made Ted upset because he could not afford to participate in the auction. Kioshi had offered to break them into the premises to see what Good And You was doing with the property. Ted had jumped on the idea.

"We are. You will see," Kioshi assured.

They got out of the car, stepping into a parking lot made of packed sand. Kioshi waved Ted to follow him onto the beach.

Ted ducked out of people's vision, wearing sunglasses and a white Stetson to mask his identity. He also wore black jeans and a dress shirt. He had kept the golden bowtie on, against Kioshi's advisement.

Kioshi was wearing his second-favorite suit. Black with a shiny red interior.

They half-jogged to an unpopulated section of beach, distant from the boardwalk. Kioshi gestured to a large cement pipe jutting out of the hillside. A stream was flowing from the pipe and into the ocean, carving the landscape in two.

"Secret entrance."

"To my towers?" Ted said, baffled, "That's just a sewer!"

Kioshi shook his head and approached the pipe. A metal apparatus with a rusted door prevented people from entering. Kioshi drew a slender key from his suit pocket and inserted it into the lock hanging off of the door. It clicked open.

"I have so many questions," Ted said, exasperated, "For starters, why do you carry around the key to a random sewer entrance in Palo Alto?"

"Not so. This key is for low-priority locks I have placed all over the country," Kioshi explained, passing through the door, "Come. We can walk and talk."

Ted eyed up the sewer nervously. It was a dark round tunnel, about two meters in diameter. The sewer water was only ten centimeters in depth, allowing Kioshi to walk along the curved surface without getting his pant-legs wet. Kioshi activated the flashlight on his phone and used it to light their journey.

They began to walk through the tunnel.

Ted continued with his questions, "So tell me, old pal. Why is there a secret entrance to my towers in the sewers?"

"Four years ago you hired me to provide protection from my associates. The ones who went rogue," Kioshi said, frowning at the memory, "As part of that, I developed a secret exit for quick escapes."

"Huh. Alright," Ted accepted, "What else haven't you told me? I'm just curious."

"I hid a few weapons in your towers - handguns. You are technically the owner of five small pharmacies in Tucson. That is mostly it," Kioshi paused, "Unless you want to hear about your daughter."

"No thanks," Ted refuted, and he wore a look of concern.

No, he had already been wearing that look. He was disturbed by the smell of the tunnel. Kioshi allowed himself to smell it for a moment and agreed. Pungent. But he was used to environments like this one.

Still, he remembered the eucalyptus. Exhaled a fraction of that tender moment. His spirits lightened.

They walked in silence for a handful of minutes. Kioshi led the way, and he walked with his back straight and his eyes constantly scanning.

Behind him, Ted sighed, "You said they wanted my business for its assets. The towers and islands and all that. So why are they selling the towers so soon? You think they're trying to turn a profit?"

"I do not think they will turn a profit," Kioshi said, speculating, "The highest bidder may turn out to be a parent company to Good And You and this is how they transfer ownership. It would cost them nothing and they could do it without revealing their connection. They may only be interested in part of your business and do not care about the towers. They maybe were interested in acquiring Childe. Not sure yet. Also, we are here."

They arrived at a small offshoot in the tunnel. A square section was cut into the side of the wall, containing a cement door. Behind a tangle of wet overgrowth, five words were spray painted on the door: 'COLLAPSED TUNNEL. DO NOT ENTER'.

Kioshi took another key from his suit and showed Ted.

"For my high-priority locks," he said.

They emerged in the basement of the Tower of Technology. Kioshi held out a hand, motioning Ted to stay put. He searched his brain, recalling the layout of security in the towers. Each tower's basement contained two security cameras. By design, they were currently standing in a blind spot. Kioshi's eyes scanned, looking to where the cameras would be mounted.

They were gone. Uninstalled.

"This is strange. They have dismantled the security system," Kioshi explained for his friend.

"Better for us!" Ted remarked.

Better indeed. Kioshi chuckled and released the tension in his shoulders.

The first five floors were exactly as they had always been. All of the same furniture in the same positions. No security cameras.

Also no Childe. Kioshi had disassembled a few of the Childe units and retrieved their SD cards. He used his phone to read their data. In all four instances, the cards contained zero bytes of information. Erased.

Ted remained in the stairwell while Kioshi ducked through the halls of the sixth floor. He cracked doors and peeked into rooms and through windows. Everything was the same.

The gym on the sixth floor contained a full wall of windows. Good for intel gathering. Kioshi crept between ellipticals and weight-lifting machines, getting closer to the window for a more encompassing view.

Four floors up, a huddle of people in matching brown vests were making their way through the glass tunnel. Moving from Health to Technology. To their tower. Kioshi slid his phone into hand and used the zoom feature on the camera to get a closer look. He recognized the sigils they wore.

"Complication," Kioshi said, waving Ted to follow him up the stairwell, "There are some people coming our way on floor ten. They probably don't know we're here. We still need to move."

"Who?" Ted asked as they climbed flight after flight.

"Appraisers," Kioshi lied, "We will continue the investigation from the top down. They will work their way from the ground up. If we meet in the middle, we will have made more discoveries than them before we move on to the next tower."

"Why does that matter?" Ted asked, "They're just here to look around, same as us."

"It matters," was all Kioshi could divulge.

The 25th floor was inaccessible. The door to the terrace had been replaced with a wall. They made their way down.

The 24th floor was in shambles, as were the three beneath it. Kioshi and Ted observed the crater in awe.

A crater that beset four levels of the building. A pile of ash and rubble lay at the bottom.

"I don't understand," Kioshi conceded, observing the destruction.

"Didn't G&Y do something like this in Canada? Buy a property, then destroy it? You mentioned it before," Ted supplied.

Kioshi felt like a fool, "Yes. The farm. Good point!"

"Tch. Looks like ol'Kaji is getting sloppy," Ted admonished, playfully.

"Forgive me. I'm usually able to make sense of things. This... no."

They skipped down to the 20th floor. The answers would lay in the ash.

Kioshi got on his knees and began to sift through the charred flakes. Ted kicked at a pile, sending smoky wisps into the air.

"Aha," Kioshi said, pulling two items from a pile. Small black bags with tiny white dots. He pushed a hand inside of one and pulled out a gem. Grey with an octagonal cut. Few in facets. The quality was high.

Next, he pulled out a green cube.

“What's up, lil' Palpatine?” a voice greeted, "This man definitely fucks!"

Kioshi clicked his tongue, switching into battle mode.

He had two guns at his hips. Four concealed blades. One bottle of mace. The stranger was sixteen decameters behind, possibly with Ted as a hostage. Best action: feign surrender. He stood and turned.

Four young men were gathered around Ted in a semicircle. They weren't wearing the brown vests. Instead, white pants and colored shirts. Red, blue, green, and yellow.

It was Red who had spoken, and he spoke again, "Ted Lax. You should not be here. Wanna fucking defy me again?"

His voice was odd. It switched from a flat tone to an angry tone on the drop of a dime.

Red wasn't equipped. None of the others had suitable weapons either. Yellow had gun-shaped utilities in his pockets. He and Blue each wielded white sticks.

Young and foolish.

"You four are out of your depth," Kioshi warned, cracking a minor grin, "Turn and go."

Yellow took a step forward. His voice was defiant. He said, "We are not four. We are one!"

They acted in unison. Blue pointed the wand. Yellow drew both utility guns. Red put Ted in a choke hold. Green charged.

Kioshi was a quicker draw than Yellow. He put a bullet through his head. Then Red. Ted collapsed to his hands and knees, gasping.

Green reached him, leaning into his left shoulder for a tackle. Kioshi drove an elbow into the back of his head. He transferred the momentum from the blow into his gun, cocking it. Then, he swiveled his arm and shot Blue.

All four down in seconds. Kioshi felt a note of embarrassment for the kids.

"You killed them all!" Ted panted, getting up.

"Not all," Kioshi disagreed, smiling. The spirit of battle was flooding his system, giving him a slight high. He leaned over and pulled Green up by the hair of his head, "Spared one."

"The hell was that, anyway?" Ted wondered, "They spoke like they knew me! Agents of yours? The rogues?"

"Not mine," Kioshi said, shaking his head and looking at the unconscious Green. The boy wore a sad expression behind cracked spectacles.

"Then who?" Ted asked, anxious, "If you have the answers, spill already!"

It's not that simple. This needs to be handled delicately. A lot of things have been building in the background. I've kept them a secret for your own benefit.

Even so, he had to say something. He could see that his friend was desperate for knowledge.

Kioshi chose his next words carefully, "I have some ideas. You'll have your answers soon enough."